Sri Lanka still hasn’t addressed sexual violence from its civil war, even though the fighting ended more than 15 years ago. Survivors are denied justice, recognition, and compensation, a UN human rights office report said. Many live with permanent physical injuries, psychological trauma, and social rejection. Impunity for wartime crimes continues shaping their lives.
The report, called “We lost everything—even hope for justice,” is based on over a decade of United Nations (UN) monitoring and talks with survivors, civil society groups, and experts. Survivors—both women and men—face ongoing intimidation, surveillance, and stigma. Most don’t report what happened because they know nothing will be done. “Sexual violence is a torture that never stops,” one survivor told UN investigators.
“Sexual violence in conflict constitutes a serious violation of international law, which may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity,” OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.
Sri Lanka signed multiple international treaties that require it to prevent, investigate, and prosecute these violations while making things right for survivors. It hasn’t done that.
The conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ran from 1983 to 2009. Sexual violence was used to intimidate, punish, and control people caught in the fighting. Documented cases go back even further—to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrections in the 1970s and late 1980s.
The war ended in 2009, but militarization, emergency laws, and a weak justice system have let gender-based violence continue without consequences. Sri Lanka has no specific law addressing conflict-related sexual violence. Statutes of limitation are still in place, forensic capacity is poor, and prosecutions almost never happen. Male and LGBTQ+ survivors are especially invisible—some of their experiences aren’t even acknowledged or are treated as crimes under current laws. The report wants Sri Lanka’s government to publicly admit what happened, apologize, reform the security sector and judiciary, set up an independent prosecutor’s office, and give survivors access to psychological and social support.
